Engineering Tech
Article | August 25, 2021
5G is the next quantum leap in mobile and wireless communication, providing unprecedented speed, capacity, and capabilities. In the 5G world, networks will serve trillions of connected things, and each person will be supported by hundreds of connected devices.
In addition to these opportunities, the combination of new capabilities and virtualisation in 5G introduces new threats. 5G has significantly more network end-points that cyber criminals can exploit, and 5G virtualisation means that the entire connection is based on software, which is inherently hackable.
Transforming society by reconceptualising the “network”
Understanding where the vulnerabilities exist is a critical first step toward protecting 5G networks from cyber threats.
This entails implementing a process that involves identifying, profiling, and assessing the health of each component before allowing it to connect to the network, and, if necessary, restricting access to the 5G service based on this assessment. It's known as a zero-trust approach, and it will assist organizations throughout the 5G ecosystem in striking the right balance between business risk and 5G security.
5G Expands Cyber Risks
The network is transitioning away from centralized, hardware-based switching and toward distributed, software-defined digital routing. However, in the 5G software defined network, that activity is pushed outward to a web of digital routers spread throughout the network, removing the possibility of chokepoint inspection and control.
5G adds to its cyber vulnerability by virtualizing higher-level network functions previously performed by physical appliances in software. These activities are based on the Internet Protocol common language and well-known operating systems.
Even if it were possible to secure the network's software vulnerabilities, the network is also managed by software—often early generation artificial intelligence—that is vulnerable.
The dramatic increase in bandwidth that enables 5G opens up new attack vectors. Low-cost, short-range small-cell antennas deployed throughout urban areas become new physical hard targets.
Finally, there is the vulnerability created by connecting tens of billions of hackable smart devices (actually, small computers) to the Internet of Things network. Plans are in the works for a diverse and seemingly endless list of IoT-enabled activities, ranging from public safety to battlefield to medical to transportation—all of which are both wonderful and uniquely vulnerable.
In this paper, we argue that a zero-trust approach, combined with company leaders focusing on three key pillars—trust, resilience, and enablement—will form the foundation of a sound cyber strategy, allowing companies to roll out 5G quickly and safely.
Read More
Engineering Tech
Article | August 24, 2021
The new UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) recently opened, with its remit confirmed by the UK government in a new Framework Document.
The document sets out the role of the bank as providing: "leadership to the market in the development of infrastructure and new infrastructure technologies, crowding-in private capital and reducing risk through its cornerstone investments and range of financial products. It will bolster the government’s lending to local government for large and complex projects through its expertise and scrutiny, and help to bring private and public sector stakeholders together to regenerate regions and create new opportunities."
It will have two strategic objectives, to help tackle climate change and support regional and local economic growth. Given these two objectives may conflict, the Framework Document suggests "where an investment is primarily to support economic growth, the Company will ensure that it does not do significant harm against its climate objective."
Read More
Engineering Tech
Article | July 13, 2022
It is important to find a balance right now and keep yourself surrounded by people you love, your family and friends. Stress is bound to happen during these extraordinary times. Meditation and connecting with yourself would help reduce any anxiety or panic that the mind creates. I am grateful that I am safe and healthy surrounded with my family, and I am thankful for having the gifts of life. It is up to us, to be grateful or be stressed. I treat this time as a luxury, time that I would have never gotten in my hustling life. I am trying to tick all the items in my to-do checklist that I have been postponing due to lack of time.
Read More
Construction
Article | May 12, 2021
The Ottendorf Viaduct on the Riesa-Chemnitz railway line stood for over 160 years until it could no longer be saved and had to be replaced in 2015. The new replacement structure built at that time was a first for Deutsche Bahn: For the first time in its history, it built a bridge with a frame-stiffened arch structure. Although 3D models were used to some extent in the planning of the structure, the BIM method was not applied, so that no digital twin of the bridge is available for future (maintenance) work.
Read More